


Always

by DeliriumDreams



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Canon Death, F/M, Happy Ending, Mostly Canon Compliant, Solo Arist Julie, Songfic, boys cross over - sort of, ghost band - Freeform, grammy winners, non-traumatic character death, semi-angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:15:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29734431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeliriumDreams/pseuds/DeliriumDreams
Summary: Luke is in love with Julie, and she loves him too. But it's not meant to be, he's been dead 25 years and she has a whole life to live. He wants to know why they can't just rewrite the stars, and eventually she finds a way.
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	Always

**Author's Note:**

  * For [juliathephantom (knitsessed)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/knitsessed/gifts).



> I don't usually write for the JATP fandom, I like lurking reading other people's fics. But this one is for my wonderful friend who could do with a surprise. It turned out a bit more angsty than I intended, but hopefully I gave it a happy ending!

_You know I want you. It's not a secret I try to hide._

Luke fidgets nervously with his guitar. He and Julie have been writing new songs for the band, and she's sat behind the piano messing around with some chords.

"Julie..." he starts to speak, ends up trailing off, "Never mind".

"Hmm?" she's still distracted by the chord progression, "what's up?"

"I...uh..." he's not great at expressing himself without music, "you know we really are sorry about the dance thing right, and we do appreciate everything you've done for us, and we don't want to mess up our band, and..."

It comes out really fast. Word vomit. And he trails off when he sees Julie is looked bemused, trying to hide giggles.

"I know, Luke. But thanks for saying it anyway." she smiles

He moves around to sit next to her at the piano.

"So, I've been working on something but it keeps coming out as a solo song. I think it's meant to be sung for you, Jules. Not by you." looks down at the piano, not sure why he's so worried about telling her

"Well, show me what you've got then" she grins at him, waiting patiently

"Uh, yeah, cool" he gets up again, and goes to grab his acoustic. Plucks a few notes to check it's in tune and starts to sing

" _You see, I've always been a fighter. But without you, I give up. I can't sing a love song, like the way it's meant to be. Well I guess I'm not that good anymore. But baby, that's just me"_

"Luke..." Julie looks torn, bites her lip, "It's beautiful, you should finish it. But, you shouldn't sing it for me. Maybe we can add some piano, and you can sing lead for it so it can be performed?"

He doesn't say anything to that. He will finish the song. But it's for Julie, he doesn't want to sing it for anyone else.

_I know you want me. So don't keep sayin' our hands are tied._

_You claim it's not in the cards, and fate is pullin' you miles away, and out of reach from me_

_But you're here in my heart, so who can stop me if I decide that you're my destiny?_

Ray may have been mad about Julie sneaking out, but he is definitely the coolest Dad that Luke and the guys know. He's set up a sort of gig for them, and he's going to try and get them exposure online. Part of him wishes his parents could have been that supportive, but he's happy that Julie isn't being made to quit the band.

Luke thinks that they should perform 'Edge of Great' for the impromptu show. It's a killer song, and should really get people drawn into the music. He decides to surprise Julie at school to ask her about it. Thinks it's going well, then **_Nick_** shows up. She cuts off their conversation.

Unbeknownst to him Julie daydreams that they're dancing. That she is in his arms, being held like he never can hold her. Flynn gives Julie the hard facts though, they aren't in the cards - Luke is out of her reach because he's dead.

The performance for 'Edge of Great' is electric. Julie is crushing the vocals, but she won't look him in the eye. There may be times when he can be a bit dense, but he refuses to believe that the two of them don't have something special (despite what he told the guys). So he takes it into his own hands.

Her solo should be acoustic but he improvises, walks forward shredding the guitar to match her melody. They lock eyes and all is right in his world again.

_What if we rewrite the stars? Say you were made to be mine._

_Nothing could keep us apart. You'd be the one I was meant to find._

_It's up to you, and it's up to me. No one can say what we get to be._

_So why don't we rewrite the stars? Maybe the world could be ours tonight._

Caleb does his best to stop Luke from reaching Julie. Invisible tendrils pull at him, but he can hear her voice and follows it to her. Jolts be damned, they give the performance of their life. Nothing will keep them apart. But, they don't cross over. Luke suspects why he's still here. Not really sure about Reggie and Alex... But then Julie does the impossible. The jolts stop and she's in his arms and it feels perfect.

In that moment nearly everything Luke wants comes true, and maybe the world could be theirs. Just for that one night.

Alex and Reggie go to find Willie. Alex wants to let him know they're alive, sort of, and didn't cross over. Leaving Julie and Luke alone, she's tucked into him on the couch. They're both in disbelief that they can touch now. He wonders if this means other people can see them too.

"Jules, do you think this will change things?" he whispers to her

"I dunno Luke, you guys are the first ghosts I've ever met. We don't know why you didn't cross over either." she mumbled, eyes drooping

"I meant with us Jules, I can touch you now. Hold you properly..." he trailed off, not wanting to chance even voicing the idea of kissing her

He didn't get an answer though, as Julie had drifted off to sleep. He shifted slightly so she was laid against him, using his chest as a makeshift pillow. He didn't sleep himself. Just lay there watching her and thinking about where they would go from here.

_You think it's easy. You think I don't wanna run to you._

_But there are mountains, and there are doors that we can't walk through._

_I know you're wondering why because we're able to be just you and me within these walls._

_But when we go outside, you're gonna wake up and see that it was hopeless after all_

It wasn't as simple as Luke wanted it to be though. Julie could touch them all, just as if they were alive or she was a ghost. But they were still invisible to everyone else unless they were playing. They had to be more careful on stage now, Julie wouldn't pass through them like they were holograms.

They were mid rehearsal when Julie tripped on one of the guitar leads and Luke caught her before she hit the ground. The world stopped and they were just staring into each others eyes when Alex cleared his throat.

"I think we should leave you two to talk." he said from behind his kit, he looked pointedly at Reggie who appeared ready to protest, "C'mon Reginald, let's see what Ray's up to"

Reggie paused, looked between Alex, Julie, and Luke, then nodded his ascent. The two boys vanished wish a slight whoosh.

"I don't understand why we can't have this Jules. You know I want you. I want us. Don't you see that we'd be brilliant" he said setting her back on her feet

"You don't think I want that Luke? It isn't easy, I want to run to you and hold you, be held by you. But there's this huge divide. There are things we can't do." Julie tried to explain, tears in her eyes

"But you and I we can be us here, within these walls. Writing music and jamming out. Together." he all but whispered

"Oh Luke, I know, and it's amazing and wonderful. But one day we'll go and do something, and be outside, and it will be hopeless because it will just be me." she answered brokenly

_No one can rewrite the stars. How can you say you'll be mine?_

_Everything keeps us apart, and I'm not the one you were meant to find_

_It's not up to you, it's not up to me. When everyone tells us what we can be_

_How can we rewrite the stars? Say that the world can be ours tonight._

So they moved on, and he never stopped loving her. If he noticed that she never dated anyone else he kept it to himself.

Julie and the Phantoms became an online sensation. Julie finished high school, and they were getting more and more gigs to play. Their YouTube views skyrocketed and they had several viral hits. It wasn't long before Julie signed with an Agent and the band was recording their first studio album and selling out venues for their tour. Julie had even made sure that the boys had creative credits on the albums, and were listed as co-authors on any of the songs they wrote with her.

It had been a surprise to Luke when Julie showed up at his parents and handed them a cheque with a percentage of her earnings. But Julie explained to them that Luke's poems and lyrics had inspired her and she felt that he deserved creative credit, because without him her music wouldn't exist. They hadn't been able to track down Alex and Reggie's families, but she had also insisted on them picking a charity of their choice each and giving the same percentage to that as well.

Despite their success though, the inevitable was happening. Julie was getting older, and they were still their seventeen year old selves. It was the year Julie turned twenty-one, and they had released their third studio album the previous year. It had been nominated for the Grammy's 'Album of the Year'.

The boys were in the old studio and Reggie and Alex wanted to discuss what to do.

"We can't keep playing with Julie... It isn't fair on her having to explain why we aren't at events, why we still look so young, who we even are?" Alex broke the silence the boys had been sitting in

"Yeah, Luke, I know you love the spotlight and rocking out but... Maybe it's time?" Reggie nervously added

Luke looked between his bandmates, his family, and saw how nervous they looked. They knew he'd hate this idea. But deep down he knew they were right. They couldn't expect this of Julie. She was alive and had to go and live her life. She'd given them their moment that they were robbed of, and they brought music back into her life. It was time for them to let her go.

"No, I... You're right. She should announce it this year. Go solo, say we're bowing out of the industry." he quickly agreed. Nodding his head as if to affirm it to himself.

When they told her, she cried. Protested that it was fine. She could handle the questions. But the three ghosts held strong. They dressed up and went with her to the Grammy's. When they were announced as the winners for Best Album, they stood on stage with her as she accepted the Award on behalf of 'Julie and the Phantoms'.

Julie was ushered off stage right to a small waiting room, and the boys followed. They shared a band hug, just like they had after they played the Orpheum. Only this time, when they were surrounded by the glow Luke knew that his brothers were ready to go. They'd found their missing piece. They had proved that they could make it, had made it, were loved and accepted by their chosen family. But he also knew, that glow wasn't for him.

"We'll be waiting for you" Reggie said, tears in his eyes as he faded from sight

"Hey, will you find Willie and tell him... I dunno, tell him to hurry up for me?" Alex smiled sadly as he also faded

Julie had tears streaming down her face as she watched her band family cross over. She wasn't sure how she was going to find a ghost she couldn't see. But for Alex she'd try. It was a bittersweet moment, and she turned to Luke, waiting for him to disappear as well. Only he didn't.

"Don't worry Jules, I'm not going anywhere." he was crying too. She realised now that Reggie and Alex had known that he wasn't crossing over with them, and their last words were to him. All she could do was pull him into a hug. They stayed there for a while.

_All I want it to fly with you. All I want is to fall with you. So just give me all of you._

_It feels impossible. It's not impossible. Is it impossible? Say that it's possible..._

Julie did as promised and continued her music career. She moved from strength to strength as a solo artist. Luke was there to support her through it all, always checking in on her. But he kept his distance most of the time. He did find Willie, passed on Alex's message and the skater had said he'd give it a shot. For the first time in decades tried to actively work out what his unfinished business was.

The house in Los Feliz was still Ray's for many years, and they met once a year in their old studio on the anniversary of their Grammy win, and the rest of the Phantoms crossing over to reminisce. Sometimes Luke would give her a song he'd written for her, sometimes they'd just talk. He always got a hug. When Ray eventually passed away, Julie kept the house so they would still have their sacred space. Luke went to the funeral and held her as she cried later at home.

All he wanted to do was be with her all the time, but it was impossible.

He never missed a new show of hers, and one year when Julie was in her early forties she sang a song he just knew was for him.

" _It might have appeared to go unnoticed. But I've got it all here in my heart. I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it. I would be nothing without you"_ her voice was still a wrecking ball after all these years

The song 'Wind Beneath My Wings' won a Grammy for best record of the year, and went on to be certified as a Platinum single.

Occasionally, Julie would be asked to perform a Phantoms song. She always declined, saying that it didn't feel right to perform them without the full band. She never made comment on the possibility of a reunion.

It was Luke that finally convinced her to change her mind. It was their annual meeting, and she'd been telling him she was being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Well, her and the Phantoms. She'd insisted that whilst she was honoured, she didn't exist as a solo artist without them. Their one request was that if Julie and the Phantoms were to be an inductee, she had to perform one of their songs.

So, for the first time since she was twenty-one, at sixty years of age, Julie takes to the stage and performs the one song she was prepared to sing without her Phantoms. The song she'd resolved to sing solo all those years ago when she thought she'd lost her boys forever. Luke stands in the wings and watches as she sings.

" _Whatever happens even if I'm the last standing, Imma stand tall. Imma stand tall. Whatever happens even when everything's down, Imma stand tall. Imma stand tall."_

He resists calling his guitar to him and shredding out. Knows if he does, he'll be visible to everyone and that is just going to raise questions no one will be able to answer. But he's so proud and loves her more than ever. If he noticed that she still hadn't found someone to spend her life with, he kept it to himself. He leaves a single Dahlia in her dressing room. She knows it's from him. 

_How do we rewrite the stars? Say you were made to be mine?_

_Nothing can keep us apart. Cause you are the one I was meant to find._

Julie Molina has lived an incredible life. She's travelled the world and had a career for the ages. It's her time now though, and she's in her home in Los Feliz. She knows her brother is there with his family, and they've said their goodbyes. There's just one more person she's waiting for.

Luke knows something isn't quite right when Julie isn't in the studio for their usual catch up. Goes looking for her in the house, and finds her tucked into bed looking more fragile than he's seen her.

"Jules" he says as he walks towards her

She struggles for a moment, pushes herself to sit up and he helps her with adjusting the pillows.

"Still here then, Luke" she says

"I'm always here for you, you know that" he replies

"Don't you know there's no such thing as cute ghosts" she teases him, "Maybe I am crazy"

"Well, we're all a little crazy" Luke smiles

"Luke, it's time for me to go. I never wanted to bring it up, but why didn't you cross over?" she finally asks her burning question

"Oh Jules, you became part of my unfinished business. You were the one I was meant to find. Even death wasn't going to keep us apart" he takes her hand and squeezes it

"Did you ever finish that song, the one that wasn't for me?" Julie asks, closing her eyes

"Yeah, yeah I did Jules. Waiting for when you were ready to hear it." Luke replies

"Play it for me" she says

He wills his acoustic into his arms, tuning it with practised ease. He plays for her, pouring his soul and heart into the song. He gets to the final refrain, and notices that her breathing is slowing.

" _And I will love you, baby, always. And I'll be there forever and a day, always. I'll be there til the stars don't shine. Til the heavens burst and the words don't rhyme. I know when I die, you'll be on my mind. And I'll love you, always."_

He finishes singing, and she's gone. A tear rolls down Luke's cheek. But he doesn't have long to be sad, the golden glow he remembers from so many years ago fills the room. He wonders if it is here for him, when from it a sole figure emerges.

"Julie" he says in disbelief

She is as he remembers her from when they met, how he's always seen her. Young, vibrant, and full of life.

"You had to know that I'd come for you, didn't you Luke?" she says with a smile

"I didn't dare to hope" he mumbles

"Silly boy" she takes his hand in hers, "Come on, Reggie and Alex are getting impatient"

"Yeah?" he laughs

"Yeah" bites her lip, "You know, no one can say what we get to be now"

Luke grins at her. He leans in, one hand becomes entangled in her hair. They share their first kiss and the golden light envelopes them both, taking them away from the world and home to their family. 

_It's up to you, and it's up to me. No one can say what we get to be._

_Why don't we rewrite the stars? Changing the world to be ours._

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by "Rewrite the Stars" from The Greatest Showman. I heard it, and it felt very Luke and Julie. I did purposefully leave off the final refrain though. Luke's song is "Always" by Bon Jovi, and Julie's is "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler (her age when she sings it and the success of the song match this too).


End file.
